


Something About the Bad Boys

by readwriteandavengers



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Boy!Leonard, Everyone is younger, Flirting, Good Boy!Ray, M/M, More couples to come, Steelwave, Thallen (hinted), fighter!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readwriteandavengers/pseuds/readwriteandavengers
Summary: Ray Palmer has found himself looking for new experiences and adventures now that he's graduated. He'd thought he'd be fine having the usual white picket fence life he had as a child, but now he's older and he wants something new. That's when he meets Leonard Snart; snarky, mysterious, and risky.





	Something About the Bad Boys

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress, so bare with me. Thank you for reading!

Graduation had been kind to Ray. He’d done his work in college, excelled past others, and was able to graduate with a full doctorate degree by the time he turned twenty-two. He had also joined college earlier, since high school courses were a bit below him. But now that he has a degree in hand, Ray wants to go out and experience life before heading back for more education.

Ray has a job now, working at some under the radar company where he gets to sit around and tinker with prototypes for the majority of the day. It’s nice, but also not what he had in mind. Ray wanted to invent, he wanted to sit down at a table and create with what he was given. The job he has now limits that. He’s given an object and told to make it better.

Ray’s in his early twenties, looking for experiences that he’s not sure how to find. Up until a few weeks ago, the thought of living a white-picket fence life was appealing. He wanted a relationship, with someone honest and caring and full of love… yet he’s still hesitant in that department. He grew up with two lying, deceitful parents with an awful relationship that ended up affecting him and his brother.

Ray tried going on a date with Felicity, an old friend, but quickly learned it would be nothing more than that. She was clearly in love with someone else and Ray’s smarter than to get in the middle of that. There’s no winning people over, he would never be able to convince her that she should love him instead of whoever she’s hooked on. It’s too much work that Ray’s not willing to put in.

That’s how Ray ends up in the basement of Nate’s mom’s home, reclined back in the overly comfy chair as his friend sits across from him.

“Look, dude. I say forget about relationships right now. The good ones come to you. You can’t search them out.” Nate’s sounding wise, in a millennial sort of way. He leans his head back on the arm of the couch so he can peer up at Ray. “You know what you should do?”

“No,” Ray answers plainly, quirking his brows.

“Go on a vacation. Go out west and see some things. The Grand Canyon is supposed to be beautiful.” Nate tells him matter-of-factly, now waving his hands out in front of him. “You need an adventure. Go all Indy Jones and make a discovery”

Ray scoffs at the idea fondly, shaking his head. “Right. Easier said than done.”

Despite Nate’s suggestion, he sighs in agreement. “Yeah, true.”

The sun is setting low now. Ray can tell by the way the orange light slants in through the small windows at the top of the walls. So he checks his watch and deems it time to head home. His hands sink into the armrests of the cozy leather recliner, pushing himself up to his feet.

“I’m going to head home. I’ve got a few things I want to get done anyway.” Ray tells Nate as he pushes the sleeves of his deep navy blue sweater up to his elbows.

He can see Nate’s disappointed frown from where he lies on the couch, causing Ray to chuckle. Regardless, Nate rolls around so he can view his friend. “Text me. I’m down to do anything. We can adventure together.”

Ray’s laughing as he turns around and heads to the stairs for his exit. “You’re the only one I’d text.” He tells him, now grabbing onto the railing of the stairs and making his way upstairs.

He sees Nate slap a hand against his chest, right over his heart as he smiles at Ray sweetly. “See you later, Ray!” Nate calls to him, just as Ray reaches the top of the stairs.

Ray chuckles fondly at his friend, shutting the door to the basement behind him and headed out the front door. He follows the pathway from the front door down to the sidewalk. It’s all familiar, since Nate and Ray grew up in the same suburban neighborhood. The grass is mowed neatly, gardens are kept pristine, and there is a classic white fence. Ray swings the gate door open, then shut and makes sure it’s locked out of courtesy.

He and Nate had been best friends since they were in primary school. Their overexcited attitudes, mixed with their high intellect seemed to scare other kids away, so they bonded with each other over that. But the more they talked the more they found out how similar they were. Both enjoyed Lucas Films, although Nate held a preference for _Indiana Jones_ while Ray preferred _Star Wars_.

Ray had been on the baseball team for a while, but after learning that Nate would never be allowed to play sports due to being a hemophiliac, he dropped it. He couldn’t find himself to enjoy something while his friend had to sit on the sidelines. So instead they found new hobbies. They built a small tree-house, which ended up taking them their entire summer, and they spent many summers holed up in it in Ray’s backyard.

Nate’s still in college, living with his mom, which Ray holds no judgment against. He’d lived with his parents all through school as well, but once he graduated he made an effort to move out. So now Ray lives on the other side of town in a small apartment just big enough for him.

Ray’s headed back to that apartment now, but he’s got one stop along the way. He takes the short walk to where his car is parked along the street, then hops in side and starts the engine up. With one last check of his shoulder, Ray pulls onto the road and heads to one location in town that he know will help him get through the rest of the night.

Ray pulls up outside the small coffee joint, eyeing the sign with interest. He's passed it many times before, but for some reason he feels the need to go in there and try it tonight. It's a Friday night and Ray plans on getting caffeinated. Plus, the building isn't nearly as busy as Ray's seen it before.

So he puts the car in park, shuts the engine off, and steps out of the vehicle with a small smile. He supposes this could be considered an adventure all on its own. He's trying something new, which has him feeling giddy. Perhaps this is a sign, a way for him to start his journey. A slow start, but he'll take it. Plus, it's very suiting for Ray. He's never one to jump in head first.

By now, he's reached front door. His fingers wrap around the cool metal and he pulls the glass door wide open so he can step in. He hears a small ding in the back, a way to let the workers know that they've got a new customer.

There's no need though, because Ray's already greeted by a smiling face. She's tall, with curls that frame her face nicely. The front curl is a soft blonde, while the rest of her hair is rich brown. As Ray gets closer, he sees her name tag reads "Kendra."

"Hi!" She greets, now placing her hands flat on the counter. "I'm Kendra. What can I do for you?"

"Uh," Ray trails off as his eyes scan the chalkboard menu hanging above his head. It all looks intricate, and Ray was never one to have a complicated coffee order. He turns towards Kendra with a fond smile. "It's my first time being here. I'm Ray, by the way. What do you recommend?"

Kendra smiles wider at the news of Ray's first visit, but then her smile falters. "Well, Ray, I'd definitely give you some good recommendations, but our espresso machine is down which really halts all the other drinks." She looks defeated as her shoulders sink. "And there's even supposed to be a big gig here tonight. People are so not going to be happy. And the repairman is out of town so I've been officially screwed." She turns around at the mention of the machine and, as if on cue, the machine lets out a high pitched squeal that has both Kendra and Ray jumping.

"Oh," Ray say simply, eyes wide at the issue. But it takes only a second for an idea to flash into Ray's mind. He turns towards Kendra with a shy smile. "I could... fix that. I've-I'm... I can fix things." He explains simply, instead of giving her the whole spiel about his degree.

She looks hesitant, and rightfully so. It's not everyday a stranger offers to fix a high tech, very expensive machine. But after another second of chewing on her bottom lip, she concedes. "I can't believe you're just offering but I'm extremely desperate." She steps away from the counter, waving Ray to the back.

He jumps into action, following her around the counter until he reaches the back. She lifts a section of the counter, allowing Ray access. He smiles at her as he passes. "Would you happen to have any tools? Specifically a screwdriver?"

Kendra snaps her fingers, turning around and disappearing in the back for a total of ten seconds before she returns. She's got a wider smile on her face as she presents him with an old, beaten tool bag.

Ray takes it from her gladly. "Thanks," he says as he turns and makes his way to the coffee machine. He already falls to one knee, eyes scanning over the machine carefully as he inspects it. "When did it start acting funny?"

"Just this morning," Kendra answers speedily, hands now locked behind her back as she watches nervously. "In the middle of putting together a latte and instead I got sprayed with hot water. Then it shuddered and stopped working. I've used this thing hundreds of times before! It couldn't have been me that broke it..." she trails off, but in a softer voice she adds on, "I hope."

"No," Ray answers confidently, standing again. He leans over it, staring at the back of it before continuing his search.

Kendra watches on nervously, now tapping her hands along her thighs. "Oh, gosh." She grumbles, "I can't believe I'm letting a stranger try and fix a very expensive espresso machine. It's worth at least five of my paychecks. I guess it can't get any worse..." she then trails off, eyeing Ray carefully. "Can it?"

Ray laughs at her nerves, now reaching towards the back and hand finding a valve. He twists the knob as he looks at Kendra through his bangs, smiling at her. "I've got a doctorate degree. It's not going to get any worse."

Kendra's brows lift, clearly impressed. She seems to relax. "Oh."

Ray chuckles again as he tightens reaches for a new knob and starts to tighten it. He straightens up with a successfully smile, wiping his hands off on the back of his jeans. He motions towards the machine with his shoulder. "Try it now?"

Kendra gives Ray a look of disbelief, but after him motioning again she gives in. She grabs a cup off of the side and places it under the machine, pressing the button with as her face scrunches up cautiously... but a small hum escapes the machine and the flow of the caffeine starts. Kendra laughs lightly, turning to show Ray the amazement she has on her face.

"Okay, whatever you want today is on me. You have literally just saved my life." Kendra smiles widely, shaking her head dazedly. "That's amazing! I cannot believe you just did that."

Ray smirks bashfully, now taking the tool bag and handing it back to her. She disappears again as she puts it away and Ray takes it upon himself to walk back around to the front of the counter. He's not watching where he's going as Kendra walks back out, still talking, which is why he ends up crashing chest to chest with someone.

"Oh!" Ray exclaims apologetically, turning to look at the person with a frown. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention-"

The man glowers at Ray, as if Ray is nothing but an agitating inconvenience in his way. "That's obvious," the man retaliates as he straightens his sleeves down his arms.

"Snart," Kendra calls the man, her voice amused yet warning. "You be nice to that man or else you'll have to deal with my wrath. He literally just saved my life."

This man, Snart, doesn't look any kinder as he drags his eyes away from Ray to stare at Kendra instead. He gives Kendra a sarcastic tilt of his head. Ray can't help but to take this moment to appreciate the man's good looks, despite his glare. His eyes are gorgeous, so blue, and confident just like the smirk he wears. "Literally?"

She rolls her eyes, but she's already preparing a few drinks. "Shut it. The espresso machine was down so yes, you could say literally."

Now Snart finally looks impressed, his brows lifting to his hairline. His hair is dark, thick, and Ray's mind is suddenly betraying him as he imagines running his fingers through Snart's locks. Then Snart turns to look at Ray and he's snapped out of his fantasy, much to his embarrassment. Ray can feel his cheeks heat up, his mouth falling open as he turns back to Kendra.

"It was nothing, really." Ray forces another bashful smile to his face but he feels too nervous knowing that Snart's eyes still haven't left his form. Suddenly his gray undershirt feels too tight and his sweater is too hot. He swallows.

"Ray, I'm never not going to sing your praises, especially after that. Now," Kendra grins widely as she sets two cups on the counter. "Ray this is (insert fancy drink here). My recommendation for you, on the house. And Snart," Kendra turns to look at him with something of fond exasperation in her gaze, "your usual."

Ray steps forward, taking the cup just as Snart does. He's not sure if it's on purpose, the man's arm certainly grazes against his for far too long than to just be casual. But Ray doesn't say anything. He takes his cup with a tight smile, giving Kendra a thankful nod.

"Well, I'll head out then-"

"What, no!" Kendra says disappointedly, giving him a pout. "Stay! Meet a few people."

All of a sudden, Ray's conversation with Nate comes swimming back to Ray. He's stuck standing there, a small conflict fighting within him. Adventure; he'd just been claiming how much he'd been craving something new. He'd came to the coffee shop for _new_ , and now that possibilities are looking him the face he's turning them down...

Ray takes a deep breath and braves them... all while Snart is still staring at him. "Alright," he agrees, which gets Kendra to smile at him so widely that Ray's smiling back.

"Great!" Kendra exclaims.

"Yippee," Snart adds on with a drawl, now lifting his drink and taking a sip as he and Kendra share a look.

Kendra quirks a sassy brow at him, a mix of a warning and a dare. Warning him to keep his mouth shut yet also daring him to say something and see what happens next. Snart's mirthful smile only grows but he says nothing further.

So Kendra takes her opportunity, now waving her hand at Snart. "This is Leonard Snart, giant pain the ass."

"I wear the title proudly." Snart tacks on as he turns to look at Ray. Now that an introduction is hanging in the air, Snart looks at him expectantly.

Ray's shoulders seem to jump as he realize that he's supposed to say something. He gives them an apologetic smile. "Oh, sorry. Ray. I'm Ray Palmer."

Snart's now leaning against the counter as his eyes trail down Ray's form, as if he's sizing him up. It makes Ray shift, suddenly self-conscious of the clothes he's wearing. When he'd left this morning he thought he looked good, but now he just feels silly.

"Are you from around here, Ray Palmer?" Snart asks next, eyes darting up to meet Ray's gaze.

"Uh, sort of. I live a few blocks from here. But I'm from the other side of town." Ray explains, but Kendra and Snart share a glimpse at the mention of the other side of town and Ray knows exactly why. He wishes he never would have said anything, but it's too late.

"So you're one of the rich kids then?" Snart's tone was unkind to begin with, but now he sounds like he's smearing the term ‘rich kids’ with hatred. Ray can't exactly blame him. He never liked the people he was surrounded by either.

"Yeah," Ray's tone turns apologetic now but Kendra's turning to glower at Snart. Ray wants to say something else, wants to say no. He’s not _one_ of those rich kids. He was an outcast, he was never one of those snooty brats that turned their nose up at everyone else, but Ray knows no matter what he says will never change this stranger’s opinion of him.

But lucky for him, Kendra comes to his rescue.

"Leave him alone, Snart, or I'm kicking you out for the night.” She warns, her tone half joking and half serious.

It’s enough to have Snart eye Ray carefully, as if he’s sizing him up to see if he’s worth the trouble. But whatever he sees in Ray’s eyes has him huff out a small laugh and turn towards Kendra with a smile that has Ray feeling embarrassed. “Well, I wouldn’t want that, now would I?” He drawls, then turns on his heel. Now he’s face to face with Ray, and the confrontation is only giving Snart another excuse to eye Ray up. Eventually, he gives a forced smile. “Nice meeting you, Raymond.” His voice is thick with what Ray could only describe as mockery, then he steps around Ray and moves off to the other side of the café.

All the meanwhile, Ray’s left utterly confused as to how his existence could irk a stranger so much.

As he turns back to Kendra, he finds her smirking in amusement at the show, but she must be able to detect his confusion because she’s leaning forward with a sympathetic smile.

“Snart’s kind of a dick, but he gets better once you get to know him.” Kendra’s talking offhandedly as she straightens up a few items around her, even grabbing a towel to swipe across the counter. After a few more swipes, the counter space on the bar is clean and she turns to Ray with a kind invitation. “Come talk to me! Unless you want to mingle. That’s fine too!”

Ray laughs kindly as he turns to look around the coffee shop, eyes scanning over the few people lingering around so far. They’re all exteriorly different, ranging from dark clothes, to bright colors or soft pastels. Some are dressed in professional garb, as if they just left their cushy lawyer jobs, and some are covered in tattoos and wearing leather jackets. The crowd is dizzyingly diverse.

So Ray concedes and turns to Kendra with a soft smile. “I don’t do well with mingling.” He tells her honestly, now coming forward to grab one of the bar stools. He pulls it back and plops down as Kendra’s shoulders bounce up happily.

“I’ll give you the rundown of everyone.” She now steps up to the counter so she can peer over his shoulder. Her manicured hand starts to move around flaccidly as she points around. Ray humors her by turning around so he can look at everyone she’s going to point out.

“So you’ve already met Leonard. There’s Barry next to him, the tall one with the cute face… well, that fits Eddie too, so Barry’s the one with the dark hair. Then Eddie’s the blond next to him. They’ve got like a flirty thing going on but no one really knows where it’s going to go. Iris, who’s Barry’s sister, started this pool for when they’re finally going to hook up. My bet is that it’ll happen before the end of the month.

“Then there’s Hartley off to the side. He’s a lot of sass so I’d be careful. Sass and brains, which Hartley proves is not only an annoying combination, but also dangerous. He’s talking to Linda. She’s in here most of the time writing a new article. She works for the local paper, but she’s been trying to find the latest ground breaking story. She’s sick of writing about the local community aid group reaching a new high for their fundraiser.”

Ray snorts at that but he follows along.

Kendra goes on for a few more introductions along the way, all of which has Ray’s head starting to spin. He’s not good with faces… or names, so he knows he’ll end up forgetting half of the people in the room by tomorrow morning. Luckily, after one other minute, the introductions end and he just holds up a conversation with Kendra.

She breaks off every few orders, to gather everyone’s drinks, but she always returns and seems genuinely excited to talk to Ray. And she doesn’t even seem bored when Ray starts to explain his job either.

But time passes and the night sky makes an appearance just outside the broad window of the coffee shop. It’s gorgeous really, with the speckles of stars out and about, but also a reminder that Ray really should be going… Plus, the shop is starting to get packed now, and someone’s setting up some instruments at the other corner.

“Well,” Ray sighs, pushing his way up from the bar and taking his long-since empty coffee cup in hand. “I really should be going. Work tomorrow and what not…”

Kendra’s quickly putting some dollar bills away in the cashier, but is already frowning. She then bumps the drawer with her hip, a small ding following after as she makes her way towards Ray. “Mr. Ray Palmer, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you. Thank you for saving my espresso machine, and know that you’re always welcomed here.”

Ray’s grinning bashfully, head ducking. The action causes his bangs to cast over his forehead, a small defense mechanism that he’s grown to use too often. He’s about to finish his goodbyes as he turns back to Kendra, but his words are cut off by a voice that holds far too much inflection.

“Don’t tell me you’re leaving so soon, Boy Scout.” Leonard comments, now saddling up next to Ray only to place his forearms on the counter. His head swivels towards Ray with dangerously challenging eyes.

“Oh,” Ray swallows as he glimpses at Kendra. She’s watching the two carefully, Ray can tell, but she’s wiping down the counter as nonchalantly as she can manage. “Yeah, I am,” he answers as he turns back to Snart.

Snart’s eyes flicker down Ray’s form in a matter of seconds, an action that’s so quick that Ray’s not sure if he imagined it or not. But then Snart’s eyes are back on him and one brow quirks. “Are we going to see you back here anytime soon?”

That’s enough invitation for Kendra to join in. “You better come back, Ray. I need someone to talk to on long nights.”

That gets Ray to chuckle, his bashfulness showing once again as he gives Kendra a small nod. “Sure, I’ll be back. You do make a mean cup of coffee after all.”

That gets Kendra to beam widely, which is almost enough to distract Ray from the attractive smartass beside him. Damn it, why did Ray have to be attracted to the jerks?

Snart hums for a second, dragging Ray’s eyes back to him. “I’m looking forward to seeing you again, _Raymond_.”

Something about the way that Snart says the words, the way that Ray’s name curls and dances in the air with Snart’s voice is mind-numbing. He can feel his cheeks heat up, and not only because he’s left speechless. But luckily he has enough brains he purses his lips together in something of an awkward smile and give Snart a curt nod. Now that he’s had a few seconds to gather himself, he’s able to form words again.

“You too, Snart.” He clips, his eyes staying glued to Leonard’s for no longer than a moment. Then, after Ray feels satisfied with that, he turns towards Kendra with a friendlier smile.

“See you later, Kendra.” He offers, now stepping away towards the exit.

She’s waving goodbye, her lips turned upwards in a smile as Ray pushes the door open and heads over to his parked car.

He heads home that night, not bothering to turn on his radio since he’s so lost in thought. The silence is nowhere near deafening, like it usually would. Ray doesn’t even notice he’s sitting in silence until he parks his car outside of his apartment and turns the engine off.

He’d be lying if he said his thoughts aren’t surrounded around the snarky, overtly-cocky Leonard Snart. Leave it to Ray to get attached in under three hours, to someone with a superiority complex, no less.

Ray unlocks his door and pushes his way into the apartment. He drops his keys on the kitchen counter, then pads his way back to his bedroom with dragging feet. He shrugs out of his jacket as he walks down the hall, so when he finally does enter his room he tosses the article of clothing off to the side. He follows up by toeing out of his shows, hands working on his belt in the meantime.

It takes him a matter of seconds to get down to his boxers, feeling freer than he has all day. With a sigh, he pulls back his covers on his king size bed and slides into the cool sheets. He wrestles with himself for a matter of seconds, twisting and turning, throwing one leg out of the blanket and then the other only to drag them back in.

But when he finally settles on his back, one arm propped under his head and his eyes glued to the ceiling, Ray knows he’s in trouble.

He’s got a crush.

-

After work the next day, Ray decides to forego the coffee shop and join Nate for a walk instead. There’s the little nagging notion in the back of his mind that perhaps Kendra doesn’t _actually_ want to see him. Perhaps Kendra was just being kind, since Ray did kind of save the day after all.

And Ray doesn’t even want to think about Snart.

But he hasn’t been able to stop since he left the shop last night. His mind had run rampant, causing him to lose a few hours of sleep. But, bottom line is, Leonard Snart had weaseled his way into Ray’s feelings and Ray is _not_ happy about it.

Snart probably hasn’t given Ray another thought since he walked out the door.

Ray’s not sure what it is. Maybe he’s feeling lonely, maybe his mind is subconsciously telling him he’s running out of time to find someone so he’s latched onto Snart, or maybe he’s just… attracted to Snart. Ray’s a human being, he knows when someone is physically attractive, but he doesn’t usually start having _feelings_ for anyone until he gets to know them.

Then again, Ray would argue he doesn’t have _feelings_ for Snart.

It’s just a crush.

“Wait, so he said _what_?” Nate exclaims as they walk down the shaded sidewalk.

“He questioned, and I quote,” Ray takes a deep breath and then tries his best to imitate Snart’s voice. “’So you're one of the rich kids then?’”

Nate exhales at that, his face scrunching up in a mix of offense and confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He demands, his hands flying out in front of him with his words.

Ray shrugs, his eyes tracing against the cracks in the pavement. “I’m guessing he doesn’t like us privileged rich kids.”

Nate looks like he wants to argue as his brows scrunch together. They pass under a tree, causing the leaves to cast a shadow against Nate’s face for a brief second before a beam of sun peaks through. He takes a deep breath and deflates a second later. “Heck, I don’t like us rich kids either.”

“Guilty by association.” Ray agrees as he slips his hands into his pockets.

They chat from there on out about a wide range of things. The topics of conversation range anywhere from their newly born adventurous attitudes, their days and their jobs, until finally they land back on the coffee shop.

“So do you think you’re going to go back?” Nate inquires as they round the street, headed back to his home already.

Ray ponders the thought, throwing it around his mind although he already knows the answer. He thinks maybe if he tells Nate no then he might stick true to that. But he can already tell he’s not going to be able to stay away.

Ray concedes with a nod.

“Yeah. I’m going to go back.”

-

Ray, a man of his word, returns to the coffee shop three times during the rest of the week. The first time, there are only a few souls lingering around while Kendra starts cleaning behind the counter. When he walks in, he expects a mild smile and a ‘Can I take your order?’ but, instead, he receives a broad smile.

“Ray!” She exclaims, meeting Ray at the counter. “I’m glad you’re back!”

It’s all Ray needed to hear for his shoulders to relax and a smile to flourish on his face. She gets him coffee, he sits at the bar, and they talk and talk until the sky turns dark. No one else comes in. Specifically: Leonard Snart does not come into the shop that day.

Ray’s disappointed, but he’s also glad that he had a good chance to speak with Kendra, and he actually feels like he’s building something of a friendship. He leaves a few minutes before closing. They say their goodbyes and make short promises to see each other again.

Ray comes back a day later. Again, he enters and the shop is mildly busy. There are a few chatty customers sprawled throughout the booths, but no one Ray recognizes. He sits down at the bar, Kendra gets him a drink, and they talk. It’s only Ray’s third visit and he already feels a routine starting to solidify.

He leaves a little earlier that night, since he plans on heading over to Nate’s. Kendra pours him to-go coffee, he gives a hefty tip, and makes his way to the door. He pushes the door open, steps out onto the sidewalk, only to _almost_ collide with someone. That would not have been fun, getting newly brewed coffee spilt down his front.

“I’m so sorry-” Ray starts, his head snapping up from his nearly spilt coffee to the stranger he nearly crashed into. But it’s no stranger.

Leonard Snart’s just inches from Ray, smirking languidly. “Nice to see you’re back, Raymond.” He comments lightly, already sliding past Ray in their passing.

And, while it doesn’t make sense, Ray says: “Me too.”

He blames it on the adrenaline clouding his mind, and Leonard’s handsome smile.

He makes sure to gush about the embarrassing moment to Nate that night.

His visits continue for two weeks. In that time, he’s visited the coffee shop a total of six times, only seeing Snart for a total of three. He must say, the fifty-fifty odds seem to be in his favor. Then again, the one time was a quick passing by which almost resulted in spilling scalding coffee. The second time just as unsuccessful since Snart hadn’t even seemed to spare him a look. The third time was more interesting.

Snart seemed to finally have time to talk to Ray. Kendra had slipped in the back for a matter of minutes, leaving Ray sitting at the counter by his lonesome. But he could feel Snart’s presence drawing up on him like a shark approaching it’s dinner. Ray could hear the theme tune of _Jaws_ playing in his head.

“I see you’re becoming something of a regular here,” Snart had started, elbows already on the counter.

“I guess,” Ray says, since he can’t think of a better answer. He tries to smile so his words come off kinder, but even he can tell it comes off forced.

Snart’s eyes dance down Ray’s form again, as if he’s hesitant. But then those calculating eyes dart up towards Ray’s, as if he’s scrutinizing him. “You’re still nothing but a rich kid.”

The comment isn’t biting. Snart actually has little inflection in his voice, because even he must know that the words are hurtful enough. Nonetheless, he doesn’t take his eyes off Ray. Instead he waits, as if he wants to see Ray’s reaction and gauge it for his own self pleasure.

Ray can feel his lips part, he can feel his brows knit together, all before confusion hits him. But even then, he has little time to process his feelings because his phone his buzzing loud and incessantly in his pocket.

He’s thankful for the distraction, pulling it out and viewing the screen in a matter of seconds. All while Snart keeps his eyes pasted on him.

 **To:** Sir Ray of the Palms  
**From:** Knight of Steel

_Emergency!!!!_

Ray doesn’t have to think any further before he jumps off his barstool and grabs the jacket he had sitting beside him. He’s quick to pocket his phone again, sliding on his jacket quickly after. In the heat of the moment, Ray forgets that Snart was beside him, insulting him, so he turns towards the other with concern written on his face.

“Uh, tell Kendra bye.” Ray stumbles out before scooping up his keys and running out of the shop and to his car.

He races towards Nate’s without another thought, making it in less than ten minutes. He parks, races inside to find the house relatively quiet for there to be an emergency… But Ray still pushes his way downstairs, taking the steps took quickly for his clumsy self. Regardless, he makes it down the stairs unharmed…

Only to find Nate surrounded by a pile of broken legos.

Ray pauses. Staring at the legos and then back to Nate. Finally, he throws his hands into the air exasperatedly. “Emergency?” He stresses, now shaking his head in disbelief.

“I texted you a picture right after!” Nate defends, waving his hand at Ray in return. “Besides, this is still pretty heartbreaking, dude. This is the Millennium Falcon we put together when we were twelve! It just fell off the shelf!”

At the news, Ray’s shoulders sag.

He and Nate stare at each other for a good ten seconds before breaking into a fit of healthy laughter.

“You made it here in like, seven minutes!” Nate exclaims. “It’s at least a fifteen minute drive from here to your apartment.” He’s settling in now, moving towards the couch and kicking back. Ray’s already joining him.

“I was actually at the coffee shop. For the sixth time in two weeks. I’m trying not to seem too desperate.” He jokes, kicking his shoes off and throwing himself down on the couch.

“Oh,” Nate coos. “Any Snart action?”

“Actually, very little until you texted me. I was sitting at the table and he came up to me and the conversation started off normal. Until he said I was nothing but a rich kid.” Ray’s head moves around with his words until he finally ends with an aggravated eye roll. “Look, I’m pretty sure he hates me simply because I grew up in this shitty suburb. So why the hell do I have to like him again?”

Nate’s shaking his head in agreement, now placing his head in his hands. “Okay, jerk alert. You know what we should do? Let’s go out tomorrow night. Just you and me. A guys night. We can head to that club a few blocks from here and drink until we forget.”

Ray barks out a laugh at that… until he thinks further on the topic. “That’s not a bad idea.”

Nate wiggles his brows. “I have a few good ideas every now and then.”

-

Ray wakes up the in the late hours of morning. It’s a Saturday and Ray plans on _enjoying_ it. He starts off with a big bowl of cereal, then plops himself down on his couch and proceeds to watch a few early morning programs. He even finds a good documentary on the History channel. He makes sure to text Nate and let him know.

But then it’s reaching two o’clock and Ray’s thinking it might be a good time to start getting around. He heads into the kitchen, piles his dishes in the sink, and proceeds to finish those so he has a nice clean apartment to come back to tomorrow morning.

Then he heads to the shower, discarding his clothes in the hamper as he goes. It’s a standard routine from there, hopping under the warm water, shampooing, washing, drying, brushing his teeth, getting dressed…

By the time he’s done, it’s nearing five o’clock. After gathering his wallet, keys, and phone, he’s out the door and off… but he thinks he’ll make one stop before he sees Nate.

Ray pulls up outside of the coffee shop, telling himself his only point of visiting is to see Kendra… plus he’s looking forward to the coffee he knows Kendra will be able to whip up for him in a few minutes flat. He’s definitely not going in hopes of seeing Leonard Snart…

Kendra’s behind the counter as usual, handing a cup off to the latest customer with a kind grin. Then she sees Ray and her smile lights up even further. She’s already moving to the side to start Ray’s order, but she’s already talking in the meantime.

“Ray! I was hoping you’d stop in!” She exclaims, now bouncing on her feet while simultaneously not spilling anything out of the cup she’s filling up.

He chuckles lightly as he walks up to the counter but can’t help the way his brows lift up in confusion. “Is there a reason why…?”

“Well, I’m always hoping you’ll stop in.” She tells him with a fond smile, now turning to put a lid on the top of the to-go cup. Now she presents the drink with a smirk that has Ray feeling more curious. “So, there’s a few of us hanging out tonight and you should come.”

Ray’s mouth parts at the invitation, conflict already consuming him. He’s already made a prior engagement with Nate, but the idea of hanging out with Kendra and a few others is alluring, nonetheless. But when he sees her waiting for an answer, he sighs.

“Sorry, Kendra. I’ve got something going on tonight.” Ray can feel the regret bitter on the tip of his tongue, followed by the disappointment settling in his stomach. Knowing his luck, he’ll probably never get another invitation again-

“Hey, no worries!” She reaches out to pat Ray’s forearm with a twinkle in her eye. “There’s always next time.”

Ray’s smiling at her, but he feels a brush against his side and suddenly their conversation is being interrupted by the suave Leonard Snart. Just his presence is enough to cause Ray’s heart to speed up in all ways that can be considered cliché, and even worse, Ray’s flight response is kicking in.

Then Snart’s lips turn upwards as his eyes land on Ray’s face. “You joining us later, Raymond?”

Ray’s lips part again, eyes shifting to Kendra. Her mouth opens as well as she tries to help him out, already taking the conversation out of his hands.

“Ray’s got other plans. But I told him there’s always next time.” Kendra answers for him, and Ray couldn’t be more thankful that she took the reins of the conversation because he’s sure his words would come out too jumbled.

Ray turns back to Leonard, now giving him a small bashful nod in agreement with Kendra’s sentiment. It’s a clear sentiment, but not clear enough for Snart because he’s looking at Ray with something of uncertainty in his gaze.

“What kind of plans?” Snart presses further, even though it’s really none of his business after all.

And Ray never did tell Kendra so there’s no way for her to save him this time, so he forces his words to come. “Uh, I’m actually hanging out with a friend later.” He manages, giving another weak smile in hopes of that being enough. His heart is still thumping against his chest, causing Ray to silently curse himself. Damn him having a crush on Leonard Snart, and damn Leonard Snart for being so far out of his league.

“A friend, huh?” Snart starts, tone now thickening with disbelief. “That’s a shame.” Snart fills, although Ray has an inkling that Snart’s not that disappointed…

But Ray has no time to respond because his phone lets out a small ding and he’s suddenly reminded of the time. His hand scrambles to his jacket pocket, pulling the phone out and reading the text from Nate. His eyes grow wide at the time but forces his gaze back up to look between Kendra and Snart.

“Sorry,” he breathes, now backing away to the door. “I’ll catch you guys later?”

“See you around,” Snart drawls, now turning around to face Kendra directly. The carelessness Snart holds has a pang of disappointment shooting through Ray, but he forces a smile to his face as he waves his goodbye to Kendra before slipping out.

He’s back in his car in seconds, starting the engine and heading straight for Nate’s.

-

It’s been two hours in to Nate and Ray’s Wild Weekend and the two are already past the point of tipsy. Really, Ray should have been more responsible and drank slower, he usually does, but he and Nate egged each other on with the promise of adventure and took one too many shots. Plus, the atmosphere of the club they’re in only validates the attitude.

That’s how Ray ended up with his button-down shirt one button off, with his chest mostly revealed. He also distantly remembers a short pixie-like girl with neon pink hair coming up to him and offering glitter and of course Ray said yes. So now from the corner of his jawbone, down to his collar bones, and between his pectorals are covered in dustings of light, gold glitter.

Nate’s not better off, having abandoned his sweater to walk around in his tight white t-shirt instead. The shirt had been tarnished, much like Ray with glitter, but instead Nate had managed to get body paint smeared on his shirt, a few hand prints here and there, and someone even managed to smear it on the right side of his face.

When they’d left, their hair had nearly been pristine. Nate had his styled in a messy fashion, but in a way that still looked but together. Ray had managed to get his bangs off his forehead and nicely to the side, but all their time putting their hair together was wasted after an hour in the club.

The humidity itself was a reason for their hair to grow completely flat, but their hair is also flat due to the wild bartender turning the hose on the crowd with a chaotic smile on their face. The crowd loved the attention, and most likely loved the cool water on their heated skin, but Ray was a little displeased with his shirt sticking to his torso. And Nate wasn’t happy with his white t-shirt becoming see through. They’ve managed to dry more since then.

Ray’s finishing off his water, which is the smartest thing he’s done since the night started, just as Nate comes up from behind. He places his hands on Ray’s shoulders and starts to massage.

“You, me, and the dance floor!” Nate calls over the music with a tipsy smile, now jutting his chin towards the floor.

The comment alone has Ray snorting, but he nods after he manages to swallow his drink. “Lead the way!”

-

Snart finally sits down at their table with a cool beer in hand and a brow quirked. To say the least, he had a hell of a time getting any sort of attention at the bar, and when he finally did they didn’t even get his drink order right. Either way, he still has a beer so he won’t pick on the specifics. He only slides into the booth next to Lisa with a sigh.

They managed to score one of the large, round booth off along the side of the club, which not only provides them great comforter but also gives them a great view of the dance floor so they can watch the numerous amount of disasters.

Kendra’s squished in the center of the booth, followed by Carter pressed against her, Amaya next to him, and Mick on the end with his arm thrown over the back of the booth with a beer bottle in his hand. Beside Snart is Lisa, and next to her is Iris. They’re an eye catching bunch, really, and Snart’s saying that from an outside point of view. His friends are all hot, what can he say?

“Hey,” Lisa finally interjects as she turns her attention towards Kendra. “Wasn’t someone else supposed to join us tonight?”

“Oh, yeah,” Kendra answers as she licks a drip of white wine from her bottom lip. “My friend Ray, but he couldn’t make it.”

“I haven’t met him yet but from what you’ve told me he sounds like a lovely guy.” Carter fills in with an honest tone, now wrapping an arm around her tightly.

“He’s really great! He’s always nice, and so smart. He fixed that espresso machine that quit on me the other day and completely saved my life!” Kendra’s leaning forward with a twinkle in her eye that’s being fueled by the wine she’s got in her hand, but the description of Ray has Snart rolling his eyes.

“Raymond is a rich kid from the other side of the train tracks. He’s a goody-two-shoes with a pretty smile and nothing more.” He tacks on, his attitude careless, but it has everyone sitting in the booth turning towards him.

Kendra’s the first to defend Ray, her brows knitting together in disagreement. “You’re wrong about him, Snart.”

“Wait,” is all Lisa says, but her tone seem to curl up with proper mischief. Her eyes flit towards Snart now and the smile she has on her face is even more dangerous. “You think he’s pretty?”

Snart scoffs at that, shaking his head at the question. “No. What made you ask that?”

“You just called him pretty.” Mick interjects without a care in the world, only grabbing a handful of the fries Amaya ordered and shoving them into his mouth.

Snart glares in response, his lips parting to give his retort when Lisa, Iris, and Kendra are all bubbling into a fit of laughter. He turns to glare at them and despite his usual cool exterior, he feels his cheeks heating up. His hand shift against his beer glass, fingertips now sliding in the sweat of the drink.

“Keep laughing and I’ll leave all of your asses here.” Snart challenges, mainly towards Iris and Lisa since they did ride with him. He has no leverage over Kendra on the other hand, so she only gives him a knowing smile and a roll of her eyes. She’s about to move on to a new topic, Len can tell, but her eyes glaze over the dance floor, but suddenly she’s enraptured by something entirely.

Her brown eyes grow wide as she straightens up, and a smile of amazed disbelief curls onto her face.

“Speak of Ray and I guess he shall appear,” she jokes, now nodding her head forward towards just what she’s looking at.

As expected, all heads turn to follow her line of sight. Snart can only imagine everyone else’s confusion, since they’ve got a slight gist of who Ray is, as they try to discern who it is Kendra’s really looking at. But Leonard’s eyes land on Ray in an instant and he feels his breath being taken away.

Ray’s practically beaming, his eyes scrunched up from the force of the smile. And while Snart would like to admire Ray’s smile a tad longer, his eyes are taken by Ray’s appearance. If Leonard could think of one word to describe Ray’s usual physical appearance it’d be ‘kempt.’ But Ray’s the exact opposite of that now. His hair is disheveled, hanging over his forehead and curling. His shirt is mostly open, revealing his chest, a beautiful expanse of collar bone and neck as well that’s covered in a glittery sheen.

Then Leonard’s brain is starting to make sense again and he realizes that Ray’s dancing with someone. And he’s definitely _not_ feeling disappointed as his eyes fall on a man a tad shorter than Ray, but still muscular nonetheless. He’s got a smile on his face as well, with his short hair sticking up as if someone had been running their fingers through it.

Leonard hopes that someone isn’t Ray.

He feels his jaw clench as the sight only gets convoluted even further. The man grabs onto the open sides of Ray’s shirt and pulls him in close, followed by Ray laughing. Snart’s feeling another pang of _something_ -

“Oh, you’re looking a little jealous there, big brother.” Lisa’s the first to comment, and when Len’s head snaps back towards the group he isn’t surprised to find her grinning at him.

Snart might be jealous.

“I’m not jealous.” Snart denies, but he can see Lisa’s, Iris’s, and Kendra’s brows all dart up to their hairline. He imagines he might see Carter, Amaya, and Mick with the matching expression of disbelief, if they were in his line of sight

Iris scoffs lightly as her eyes dance back over Snart’s shoulder and at Ray and his mystery man. “You sure about that?”

Snart’s jaw tightens but he turns back towards the dance floor with minor hesitation. Instead, he sets his gaze and watches with fire curling in his abdomen. Ray’s now got an arm slung over the man’s shoulders, and the man has a hand on Ray’s hip in return. They’re still pressed front to front as they move against each other to the music. The man says something to Ray, which has his head falling back and laughing.

Snart realizes he can’t watch any longer so he turns back to his beer with a roll of his eyes. “Look, if Raymond wants to get it on with some stranger then let him. Who am I to judge?”

“A very jealous man who’s wishing he would have made a move far sooner, I’m guessing.” Iris tacks on, but follows up with lifting her beer to her lips as Snart turns to glower at her. In the end, he wants to raise another threat of leaving her and Lisa, but they’re both his little sisters so the threat will fall empty.

“Oh!” Kendra’s interjecting before anything can be said, eyes dancing over to Ray’s direction again. “They’re coming this way!” Then Kendra’s standing up so she can be seen and waving with a ridiculously kind grin on her face.

Snart turns further into Lisa and Iris as he tries to hide his face, but he can already feel Ray’s presence coming closer and closer to the table. Plus, Lisa’s elbowing him in the side so he’s forced to look up. When he does, he finds that Ray and the man he’s with are just passing by, most likely headed to the bar, and still haven’t noticed Kendra yet.

Ray says something to the man in passing, but then he notices the movement out of the corner of his eye and his gaze finally lands on Kendra.

Snart watches as the smile Ray was wearing seconds before falls off his face only to be replaced with a very deep flush. Then he seems to come to his senses and walks up to the table with an awkward smile while the man follows a step behind in confusion.

“Hey!” Kendra greets, still not sitting down. “What a coincidence!”

“Yeah, totally.” Ray laughs breathily, the awkwardness now coming off of him in waves. His eyes fall towards his friend as a backup, but then his eyes grow wide as his smile turns more genuine. He turns back to the group now as he clamps a hand down on the mysterious man’s shoulder. “This is Nate.”

“Hi, Nate!” Kendra greets, waving since she’s not able to reach across the table to shake his hand. “Ray never told me he had such a cute boyfriend.”

In unison, the two’s mouths fall wide open, followed by their heads swiveling in each other’s directions. Then their shock is demolished by pure amusement, their lips quirking into smirks. Then they’re laughing.

“Nate’s not my boyfriend.” Ray states matter-of-factly as Nate reaches out to hold onto Ray’s shoulder for support, still laughing. “God, no. He’s my best friend. Not boyfriend.”

Kendra tries to look sheepish, but her eyes flick towards Snart and in that quick second he’s aware she did that for him. He’d usually be embarrassed, but he feels too relieved. She shrugs her shoulders lightly as she gives them an apologetic look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.”

“No, no. It’s fine,” Ray assures, then he motions towards Kendra. “This is my friend Kendra, she works at that coffee shop I told you about.”

Nate’s pondering the thought for a second and a half before realization dawns on his face. “Oh!” He says in a long, drawn out fashion, now nodding. “Yeah! Nice to meet you, Kendra.”

As the two have their moment of introductions, Ray’s eyes fall down to the corner booth and finally finds Snart. He gives him a small smile, then nudges Nate with his elbow. He nods down towards Snart, now holding his gaze. “This is Leonard Snart, master of sass.” He teases, and that’s when Snart notes the glassy eyes that Ray holds. His boldness is rare, but Ray’s getting a little extra help from the alcohol tonight.

Snart lets his eyes dance up to Nate, giving him a tight-lipped smile. Nate doesn’t seem to sense the mild heat behind Snart’s eyes because Nate smiles wildly and gives a kind nod.

“But, uh,” Ray’s eyes now glaze across the booth as he finds unfamiliar faces looking back. He offers a weak smile at them but turns back to Kendra. “That’s all I know.”

Kendra claps her hands excitedly as she starts to look at her friends. “Let me start with the introductions then! You’ve already introduced Snart, master of sass, which I’m going to start using by the way. Then there’s Lisa, who is Snart’s sister, and the lovely Iris who has been best friends with Lisa since childhood. Trust me, they will remind you of that. And then to my left is my lovely and annoying boyfriend Carter-”

“I’m not that annoying.” Carter interjects, but the rest of the table breaks into a fit of laughter at the sentiment. The man quickly glowers at all his friends as he brings his drink closer to himself. “Thanks, guys.”

Kendra recovers from her giggles, continuing on. “Then there’s Amaya, and that’s Mick on the end.”

Nate, who’s standing closest to Mick, gives him a nod and a smile, to which Mick looks him up and down suspiciously.

“Pretty.” Mick grunts out as his eyes flit back up to meet Nate’s. Then he tilts his beer back without giving any more of an explanation.

Nate’s brows furrow at the word, followed by his lips parting. He goes to ask but then pauses, eyes scanning over to Ray and then Kendra. By the quick sweep Nate does across everyone else, they seem to be equally as confused. So he turns back to Mick confusedly.

“I’m sorry?” Nate pushes, head tilting to one side as Mick places his beer back onto the table.

“You’re pretty.” Mick explains blandly, then turns back to Amaya’s food and snatches another fry.

Iris and Lisa are now cracking up at Mick’s bluntness, while Snart shakes his head exasperatedly. Something tells Ray that the group is rather used to Mick’s little, odd quips. But even Ray’s smiling when he sees Nate’s eyes grow wide in surprise.

“Oh,” Nate manages, “uh, thank you.” After his words, Nate turns back to Ray, giving him a look of bewilderment while Ray only smiles at him in amusement. His brows only dart up as Nate’s look turns more pointed.

“Lenny,” Lisa’s interrupting the conversation now, patting on Snart’s arm lightly. “Get up. Iris and I want to go dance.”

Snart sighs, as if the task is some extraneous activity, but he steps out of the booth and finds himself standing besides Ray. Then he lifts his arm with the usual Leonard Snart flourish and waves them on. Lisa practically beams at him as she slides out of the booth, quickly followed by Iris. Then Lisa grabs onto Iris’s wrist and the leads her off to the dance floor.

Snart’s about to sit back down just as Kendra comes sliding pas, tugging Carter by the sleeve of his shirt. “Sorry, Leonard, but we’re going to dance too.”

He lets out a sigh, but lets them pass. As Kendra goes, she pinches his cheek for a split second before bouncing away before Snart can say anything else. Carter only chuckles as they go, giving Snart a waggle of brows, but he lets Kendra drag him away. Good thing too, because Snart looks like he’s about to punch Carter just for being guilty by association.

Now, Snart’s taking his rightful spot back in his booth. But as he sits down, Mick goes up. He rolls his shoulders with a huff, now shaking his empty beer glass to make a point. Snart only rolls his eyes but nods, their conversation going by completely wordless.

Now Mick lets his eyes fall back to Nate, but his expression never softens. “Why don’t you come with me, Pretty? I’ll buy you a drink.”

Nate’s expression falls back into shock, staring at Mick for a good moment before Ray nudges his lower back. The action alone has Nate coming back to reality, and he responds with a small nod of his head. “Okay.” He says softly, his expression almost as frozen as Mick’s.

That gets Mick to huff out in success, the corner of his mouth now tilting up. From there, he leads Nate towards the bar, their conversation already lost to Ray’s ears. That doesn’t stop him watch Mick and Nate for as long as he can, trying to get a better sense of the aura he’s getting. When he sees Mick’s hand land on Nate’s lower back just before they disappear from sight, Ray’s suspicions have been confirmed.

Ray turns back to Snart, mouth open and prepared to talk when Leonard’s already doing just that.

“Mick likes shiny things, and your friend just so happens to be a polished silver spoon.” He jokes, words dancing together in a way that only Leonard Snart’s drawl could make appealing.

Ray’s going to reply but again, he has no time to answer. Amaya’s emptying from the booth as well. Her plate is empty by now, and she leaves it on the table as she slides out past the red vinyl seat. Once she stands, she turns towards Snart and straightens her jacket. Her expression shows how bored she is, and something tells Ray she never wanted to come in the first place.

“I’m ducking out early, Snart.” She explains as she grabs Lisa’s abandoned drink and takes it for herself. She takes two good gulps of the beer and then sighs, setting it back down. “I’m headed over to Sara’s. She just got out of work.”

“Alright. You got a ride?” Snart questions, and Ray’s shocked to hear concern in his voice.

“No, but her work is a few blocks from here. We’ll meet up and walk back to hers.” She explains, but when Snart doesn’t look pleased she rolls her eyes with a smirk of her own. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leonard.”

He’s grinning now too but gives her a curt nod. “See you later.”

She then walks past Ray without another word, off towards the exit and gone from sight in seconds. Ray’s still watching her go when he hears Snart sigh from his seat.

“Don’t just stand there, Raymond. Sit down.” Snart waves at the now empty booth across from him, lifting his glass and taking a sip from his beer.

Ray feels his lips still parted, tongue darting out to graze against his bottom lip gently as he peers at the dance floor. He was having a fun time with Nate before… and he imagines sitting at a table with professional-glarer Leonard Snart will end up more awkward than anything…

So he turns back to Snart with a thumping heart and a new wave of courage. “Well, everyone is dancing…” he trails off, hoping Leonard will understand where he’s going… but Snart only turns to look at him blankly. Ray motions towards the dance floor with a small nod and a nervous smile. “Do you want to dance?”

Snart’s in the process of setting his drink down, but when Ray voices his proposition, he ends up setting the glass down rougher than he planned. He turns to look up at Ray with pure disbelief settling heavy in the crease between his brows. When he sees Ray’s genuineness, he can’t help but scoff. But then Ray’s frowning and he feels guilty so he tries again.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the one to get up and dance.” Snart says lamely.

That gets Ray smiling again and now he’s the one laughing. “Oh,” he says sarcastically, eyes widening in mock amazement. “Cool, angsty, wallflower Leonard Snart.”

That gets Snart smirking too, purely out of relief that he hadn’t hurt Ray’s feelings after all. He’ll worry later about when he started caring about Raymond’s feelings… “I’m not against kicking your ass, Raymond.” Snart drawls, letting his head swivel back on his shoulders to peer back up at the other.

Ray’s teeth clamp down on his bottom lip as he holds back a grin, and damn it, Snart’s eyes fall to the sight immediately. The sight of the usually self-controlled, polite, and reserved Ray Palmer is now a tipsy, giggly, body-glitter wearing, tease. He’s head lolls to one side as he shares his flirtatious grin with Snart.

“Don’t make me beg, Snart.” Ray’s tone has turned light now, but almost warning. As if he’s letting Snart know that if he doesn’t say yes in the next few seconds, Ray will absolutely result to begging. And it really shouldn’t turn Leonard on as much as it does.

Regardless, he’s still hesitant. He doesn’t know what to say to that, because yes, he really would like to see Ray beg, but at the same time he definitely doesn’t want to get up from where it sits. He doesn’t even want to think about being out on the dance floor with Ray because things will get very uncomfortable.

But Ray must see his thinking because he lets out a dramatic sigh as he looks of towards where Mick and Nate disappeared to. “You’re such a spoil-sport. I guess I’ll have to find someone else to dance with. I’m sure Mick and Nate-”

The thought of Ray dancing with Nate again, or even Mick, has Leonard’s temper rising. So he starts to slide out of the booth with a roll of his eyes. “Cool your jets, Boy Scout.” He now stands to his full height, which is only an inch or so shorter than Ray. And now that he’s closer to Ray, Snart decides to give some Ray a taste of his own medicine. He steps close enough that noses are inches apart, and he wears a small smirk as his eyes fall down to Ray’s lips. “Let’s go dance.”

The action has Ray a little distracted, rightfully so. Having Leonard Snart so close is almost as intoxicating as the shots he’d taken an hour ago. But then he’s smirking now that Snart’s accepting his proposition. He doesn’t even ask as he leans even closer, now nose to nose with Snart, as he grabs hold of Snart’s hand. Then he turns on his heel and drags Snart towards the dance floor. Ray manages to get slide past a few grinding couples, finally stopping when he finds a satisfactory spot. Then he swivels back to Leonard, already moving to the music.

Suddenly being thrown into the dance floor is either the best thing Ray could have done or the worst. Leonard still stands awkwardly, despite the fact that he’s surrounded by others dancing. He only quirks a brow at Ray as he starts to move his hips, clearly resisting against losing his cool attitude. Ray’s huffing out a breath at the sight, a noise that’s lost over the music, but then Ray’s reaching for Snart again. This time, his hand grabs onto the collar of Snart’s shirt and pulls him in close. The action is rough and confident, and Snart manages not to stumble forward, but he’s still only standing as Ray drops his hand from Snart’s shirt.

“Relax.” Ray calls over the music, now that their foreheads are nearly pressed together. Leonard can feel the warm breath of Ray’s words ghost against his cheek, and his skin is flushing now that Ray’s pressed the majority of himself close to Leonard’s body. The pressure of Ray firm against him has Snart’s heart thumping harder, and it doesn’t help that his eyes now fall to Ray’s exposed, shimmering expanse of collar bone. He wants to lean in, bite at the unmarked skin and make some bruises for Ray to admire in the morning.

Then he feels Ray’s hands ghost against his. Ray grips onto his wrists, proceeding by setting Len’s hands low on his waist. Once he knows Leonard’s going to keep his hands right on Ray’s waist, his own hands drape over Snart’s shoulders. He gets comfortable by locking his hands behind Snart.

With Ray’s body moving against his, and Snart’s beer starting to settle, Leonard relaxes, just as Ray requested. There’s no space between them since Ray boldly moved closer. Their legs are intertwined, bodies pressed together from their thighs, to their groins (which is the best friction Snart has ever experienced), all the way to their abdomens.

Ray’s lips are curled into a lazy grin now that Len’s hips are finally moving against his. His head tilts now so he can get a better look at Leonard’s blue eyes. Others dance around them, the music thumping through the club and ostentatious lights skimming across the crowd, yet Leonard feels like it’s only them. Somehow Ray managed to make their moment feel private, despite the thriving crowd.

“And here I thought you didn’t want to dance with me because you couldn’t.” Ray comments, his voice lower now that he and Snart are standing close. Somehow Ray manages to sound honest, and genuinely happy that he managed to get Snart to dance.

“I can dance just fine, Raymond.” Snart shoots back, his head now moving in Ray’s direction. Their lips are close, but neither make a move to close the distance. The proximity clearly has an effect on Ray, since his eyes dip down to Snart’s lips. He recovers a few seconds later, but it was long enough that Snart picks up on the action. He grins smugly.

Ray’s attention is brought back, laughing off Snart’s comment lightly. The sound is so pure that Leonard’s glad that Ray’s close enough so he can hear it over the music.

“I can see that.” Ray agrees, but something grazes against the base of Snart’s neck at the end of Ray’s words. The feeling becomes more present and he knows it’s Ray’s fingers against his skin. The other’s getting more daring, moving his fingers to run through the thick hair at the back of Snart’s head.

The gravitational pull that Snart feels with Ray is something he’ll never be able to describe. In this moment, he feels as though this is where they’re meant to be, wrapped around each other, sharing the same air, with eyes only for one another. There’s a spark he feels with his hands on Ray’s hips, as illogical as Snart knows that is.

By now, Ray’s eyes have fallen back to his lips and this time Snart’s not smiling smugly. He indulges himself, staring at Ray’s mouth just in time to watch those rosy lips part. He can feel the desire coating his bones, spreading through every muscle, telling his body that he needs to kiss Ray. His lips _have_ to be pressed against Ray’s.

Leonard’s leaning closer, and Ray’s grip grows tighter in his hair. By now, their noses have slotted against one another perfectly. Their mouths should follow suit, it would only be a few centimeters that they have to close for their desires to be fed…

But the song is ending and Snart feels reality claiming him like a splash of cold water. He jerks his head back from Ray, but his hands seem to be frozen on the other’s waist. From his new vantage point, Snart can see the way that Ray recoils. And instead of anger, Ray only looks hurt, embarrassed, confused, and worst of all he looks apologetic.

Ray detaches himself from Snart instantly, eyes darting to meet Snart’s gaze. “I’m-” Ray shakes his head as his words fail him. “Sorry.” He manages, and then he turns and darts away, anywhere but the current place he’s standing. Despite Ray already being far out of Snart’s reach, he steps forward only to watch Ray disappear from sight.

A hand clamps down on his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts like bringing a drowning man back to air. He snaps his head to the side to find Kendra on the other end, smiling until she sees the look on Leonard’s face. She looks concerned as she steps closer.

“Where’s Ray?” is the first thing she asks, which has Snart exhaling as his chest constricts.

“Cinderella just ran off.” He bites out, motioning towards the exit Ray had just taken.

She’s frowning now, but she gives Snart a look of sympathetic understanding. She slides her arm around his shoulders now, which she’s able to reach due to her high heels, and walks him past the crowd and back to their booth. “Alright,” she says plainly as she slides into the booth, Snart following after. “What happened?”

-

“I still don’t get it,” Nate comments as he shovels another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He’s lounged on his old, worn couch that he’s kept in the basement since he and Ray were under ten with his bowl of ice cream in his lap. Usually, he and Ray would have made more of an effort to be quieter, but the only other resident of the home is Nate’s mom and she’s gone for two months on an expedition.

Ray sighs as he buries his face in his hands. “There’s not much to get, Nate. I just can’t ever see him again.”

“Because you didn’t kiss?” Nate inquires.

“No, because I tried to kiss him and it wasn’t reciprocated. I made a fool of myself.” Ray only grumbles even more dramatically as he rolls over. Ever since they got back, they’d both switched into a pair of pajamas. Ray had ended up borrowing Nate’s. Borrowing pajamas is a common practice between the two whenever they spend the night at one another’s. So Ray has his face buried in his hands while lays on the floor.

“Look, man,” Nate starts his lecture as he takes another bite of ice cream. “We’ve both been on this whole kick about adventure. Sometimes adventure doesn’t always end up with a nice ending! Risks are risks, and sometimes that means the cute boy you like doesn’t kiss you back. It happens. But gosh damn it, Ray, don’t let it bring you down! Rejection is a normal part of life. Remember how beat up I was when Brenda turned me down when I asked her to the Sadie-Hawkins dance in tenth grade?”

Ray groans as he peers at Nate through his hands. “She turned you down because girls were supposed to ask boys. And she was also going to the dance with Austin already.”

At that, Nate’s head tilts to the side. “Really?”

Ray sighs heavily, a small, helpless noise following after. His forehead thuds against the carpet as he concedes.

“Oh, right, sorry. So what are you going to do?” Nate shovels more ice cream into his face.

Ray sighs, rolling onto his back again to stare up at the ceiling. “The only thing I can do. Avoid him at all costs.”


End file.
